Love Comes Back
by FanGirlMott
Summary: Derek never died, it was all a government cover up. He comes back to Seattle when he hears about Amelia
1. Chapter 1

It had been three years since her life changed. She had lost her husband, she had had another baby, she had started a relationship with someone new. It took her a while to come to terms with what happened, losing her husband and having to pull the plug. Her life had just started to look up, she was in a new relationship and she was planning on introducing him to her kids. Everything was on the up until she heard the news about her sister.

Amelia had been diagnosed with a tumor, a 10cm tumor. There was only one person she knew could help her and remove the tumor, but he was dead. She had been admitted to the hospital, while they waited to find a surgeon talented enough to remove it.

Meredith had just got home after hearing the news about her sister in law, and was sat on her bed. Just if Derek was here to help her, help his sister and be there for his kids. He had a child that he didn't know about, he had died before she was born. She didn't think Zola would ever get over losing her dad, and Bailey was still too young to fully understand what had happened.

She would give anything to have her husband back, to have the life she had before. She found it hard to look after three children alone, her sisters helped her, but it wasn't the same as having their dad around. She missed him at the hospital too, not seeing him stood in the OR in his ferryboat scrub cap or walking through the halls in his dark blue scrubs.

There was nothing that Meredith could do to help Amelia apart from being there for her. she just had to be there for her, before the surgery and after. She was sat on her bed, with the kids. Bailey asleep on what was Derek's side, Zola was sat near the end of the bed and Ellis was lay next to Meredith asleep.

'Mommy, I miss daddy' Zola said

'I miss him too Zozo' Meredith said, it broke her heart when she heard her kids say things like that

'Come here' Meredith said letting Zola sit on her knee and cuddle into her chest and falling sleep. Meredith was slowly nodding off once all her kids were asleep when her phone beeped. She picked up and read the text from Maggie. She was shocked at what she read, the news had heard about Amelia's cause and reported it. There was now an article on how a neurosurgeon had a 10cm tumor stopping her from removing other people's tumors. The only good thing about this is that maybe it will encourage a neurosurgeon to come ahead to help her. she put her phone back down and closed her eyes to fall asleep.

Meanwhile over in DC, the brain mapping initiative was still going ahead. The president had come to the labs this day to see how it was going

'Doctor Grant Anderson, how is it going?' The president asked

'It's Shepherd, Derek Shepherd' The doctor replied

'You know we can't use that name, we have to protect the research and your identity'

'You had me die, I haven't seen my family in years. I have two children and a wife, it would have broken my wife' Derek said, 'I don't know how long I can keep doing this for. I need my family'

'The research is almost done, only another year or so' The president told him, 'Keep up the good work' He said before leaving the labs.

A few hours later, Derek made his way back to his DC apartment. It wasn't very homey, he didn't want to stay there forever. He had a family back in Seattle, he had two children. He couldn't imagine the pain Meredith went through having to tell their kids that he was 'dead'. He wasn't dead, he was very much alive and wanted his family. He had photos of his children and wife in the living room of his apartment.

He threw himself onto the sofa and turned on his TV. He didn't have any friends in DC as he didn't want to make any. He couldn't call any of his family, just so the research could continue. He thought doing this work would be everything, but he was wrong. His family was everything. He turned on the news and lay back on the sofa, reading the paper.

One minute the news was talking about a koala that escaped the zoo, the next it was about Amelia. While he was reading the newspaper, in the background he heard; _Female neurosurgeon in Seattle diagnosed with 10cm tumor on her brain. With no surgeon to remove the tumor, the worse it could become. The surgeon is known to come from a family of surgeon's, Doctor Amelia Shepherd._ As soon as he heard his sisters name, he threw down the paper and stared at the screen.

His sister had a tumor that he knew that he could remove with no deficits, but he was 'dead' to them. He knew what he needed to do, he needed to go home to Seattle and help her but he couldn't just turn up. He would have to quit from the brain mapping and then go home and talk to his family. He would have to explain everything; would they even understand what happened. He picked up his phone and dialled the number for the president's secretary.

'Hello this is Doctor Anderson from the brain mapping initiative, I need to speak to the president…its urgent…Hi Mr President…I'm sorry to have to tell you this but I quit…I can't do this anymore, I need to go home to my family…my sister has a brain tumor and I need to be there…I'm sorry Mr President…goodbye' Derek said on the phone, now that he had quit from the NIH, he had to book himself a flight home and think about how he would tell Meredith.

Would he turn up at their house and talk to her? Would be ask her to meet him somewhere? Would he turn up at the hospital? He booked himself a flight back to Seattle for the morning so he had time to think about what he would say. He would pack his things in the morning and go home.

The next morning, Derek woke up early to pack his things and get to the airport for his flight. He didn't know how to feel about coming back home and he didn't know how Meredith was going to feel.

In Seattle, Meredith had the day off work to spend it with her children. Bailey was still asleep on Derek's side, and Ellis was asleep next to Meredith. Zola was awake and was drawing at the end of Meredith's bed and Meredith was sat up on her bed admiring her children. A few minutes later Ellis started to stir and cry

'Shh' Meredith said picking up Ellis and rocked her, 'I'm going to talk Ellis down for her breakfast Zo, are you waiting her?' Meredith said standing up

'Yeah' Zola said

Meredith took Ellis downstairs to give her, her breakfast. Once she was done she went back upstairs and Bailey was awake now. She wanted to take the kids out so she decided they would go on the ferryboat and enjoy their day

'Right, you two. Do you want to take a ride on the ferryboat?' Meredith said

'Yeah!' Bailey and Zola shouted together

'Let's get dressed and then we can get going then. You two go and have a wash and brush your teeth and I will get your clothes out' Meredith said putting Ellis in her cot.

She got her kids their clothes out and laid them on their beds for them when they had finished in the bathroom. She got out Ellis's clothes and changed her in her room before putting her back in the cot while she got dressed. When everyone was ready they all went downstairs and got their shoes on. Meredith carried Ellis out followed by her other two children to her car. She put Ellis in her seat and Zola and Bailey got themselves into the car and strapped themselves in.

'Everyone ready?' Meredith asked from the driving seat

'Yeah' Bailey said

Meredith drove them to the ferryboat dock and parked the car on the ferryboat. Meredith and the children made their way up to the top deck of the boat and stood by the railing looking out over the water

'Do you know something, your daddy used to love these boats. He went on them whenever he could' Meredith said crouching down to Zola and Bailey's height while holding Ellis

'Did he bring you with him?' Zola asked

'Sometimes he did, his scrub cap even had ferryboats on'

'Really?' Bailey asked

'Yeah, they were his favourite thing other than you guys' Meredith said

They had such a great day together as a family. Once the ferryboat docked, they got off and went for some dinner at a child friendly restaurant. Then Meredith took them to the park so they could run off some energy so that they would go to bed early and sleep through the night. When they got back on the ferry to go home they sat on one of the benches and played. Zola did some colouring in her book she brought, Bailey played with cars that he brought and Ellis watched some videos on Meredith's phone. On the car journey home Ellis and Bailey had fallen asleep in the back of the car and Zola was talking to Meredith all the way home.

When they got home it was around 8pm, Meredith quietly woke up Bailey and picked up Ellis. She got the kids into the house. She put Ellis to bed in her cot and grabbed the monitor, and tucked Bailey into bed and he fell asleep quickly. Zola went to her room and got in bed and read her book until she fell asleep. Meredith kissed each of her kids on the forehead before going downstairs to relax.

She made herself a cup of coffee and placed the monitor down on the table next to the couch where she lay down. She turned on the TV, she didn't really care about what was on she just wanted some sound in the background. She had fallen asleep with the TV on and her book on her chest. She had been asleep for about 20 minutes when there was a knock at the door. She put the book on the table and went to the door.

She opened the door and froze.

'Wh…' Meredith said shocked at what she saw

'Hi Mer' Derek said


	2. Chapter 2

'Derek…' Meredith started bursting into tears, the love of her life was stood at the door. She collapsed to the floor in tears, Derek leant down and pulled her into his body. Finally, he had his wife in his arms.

'What the hell?!' Meredith said standing back up and hitting him in the chest

'Meredith, I can explain' Derek said tearing up

'You better come in' She said walking back into the living room and sitting down near the monitor

'Meredith, I am so sorry. I am so sorry you had to go through all that. I never wanted you to' Derek said sitting at the other end of the couch, 'I thought DC was everything, I needed that brain mapping in my life. The president came to me and said that I couldn't be me, I couldn't be Derek Shepherd'

Meredith just stared at him

'I don't fully understand why, but it was to protect the research and protect me. We had just had a huge fight so I agreed, but I never thought they would pretend I died. Cut off all contacts to my family, to you. Then I heard about Amelia and I had to come home, I needed you back…' Derek stopped when he heard crying through the monitor

'I need to go and check on…' Meredith started before realising he didn't know about Ellis, 'I'll be back in a minute' Meredith said disappearing upstairs to check on Ellis. A few minutes later she came back into the living room

'Was that Bailey?' Derek asked

'Err…no' Meredith said, 'It was…it was Ellis'

'Who's Ellis?' Derek asked

'Our daughter'

'What?'

'I was pregnant when you 'died'. When you went, I left Seattle and left to Boston. I took the kids and we left. I had the baby there and then Alex brought us home. But you have more to explain'

'I hated being away from you and the kids. I know I shouldn't have done it, I should have said no and come home. I can't even imagine what you went through, but I am home now' Derek said

'I can't do this right now. I am going to go to bed and we can talk tomorrow'

'Can I stay here?' Derek asked

'You can stay in the guest room, but you don't leave the room at all. The kids can't see you until I have spoken to them, I will have Maggie look after the kids tomorrow and we can talk' Meredith said leaving the living room and going up to bed.

She lay in her bed staring at the ceiling, she couldn't get to sleep. Her husband wasn't dead, he was sleeping down the hall. What about Nathan? What was she going to tell him, she had told him she wanted him to meet her kids but now her husband was back

The next morning Meredith woke up the Ellis crying. She went and calmed her down before sitting on her bed. She needed to call a few people, so she picked up her phone.

'Hey Maggie…I'm alright, how's Amelia?...that's good then…are you working today?...is there any chance you can have the kids today?...he was supposed to but something's come up…I'm fine…thanks…I'll bring them round in a half an hour…thanks' Meredith said down the phone to her sister.

'Hey Nathan…yeah I'm good…about meeting the kids…something has come up so I can't today…Maggie is having them…yeah we can rearrange…bye Nathan'

She told Maggie she would be half an hour, so she woke Bailey and Zola and asked them to get ready. She got herself and Ellis dressed and packed them some things in a bag to take with them. She walked out her room with Ellis in her arms, following Zola and Bailey down the hall. Derek was stood by his door looking out through the small crack, seeing his kids was heart-breaking.

When Meredith got back from dropping her kids off she made herself a coffee and waited for Derek to come down

'Hey' Derek said walking into the kitchen where Meredith stood. She just looked at him

'Meredith, I am so sorry. I will answer any questions you have'

'We had a funeral' Meredith said

'I know, I don't know how they did that, but you did have a funeral. There is a headstone with my name on, which breaks my heart'

'I had to tell Zola and Bailey that daddy had died, that they would never see him again'

'You should never have had to do that. I shouldn't have put you through that, the kids shouldn't have gone through that. They were babies, and their hearts broke'

'What am I supposed to tell them?' Meredith asked tearing up once again

'I don't know, but we can do it together. I want to be a family again. I want my wife and kids back. I want to get to know Ellis, I want to be part of their lives. I have already missed too much, I don't want to miss anymore'

'I will try and speak to them tonight, once I have thought of what I was going to say'

Meredith stood in the kitchen against the worktop and drank her coffee. She looked at Derek, she wanted to kiss him and punch him at the same time. Derek stood by the table looking at his wife, he wanted her back. Meredith went to say something when there was a knock at the door. She went to the door and opened it

'Nathan…hi' Meredith said

'Hey'

'What are you doing here?' Meredith asked

'You sounded worried on the phone, I wanted to check you were okay' Nathan said, Derek didn't recognise the voice so he watched them around the corner so he wasn't seen

'Yeah I'm fine, I just need to deal with somethings. I'll be back to work tomorrow'

'Okay, well I'll call you later' Nathan said before giving Meredith a kiss, 'See you tomorrow'

Meredith closed the door and went back to the kitchen

'Who was that?' Derek asked

'Oh…no one'

'You kissed him?'

'Yeah. That's Nathan, he's…it doesn't matter'

'No, I'm glad you're happy and moved on'

'So, you heard about Amelia then?'

'Yeah, I saw it on the news. I know she doesn't have a surgeon yet, I know I won't be allowed to. But I'm one of the only people who will be able to remove the tumor. So, I came back. Meredith please, I know there is still a lot to say but we have time. I want you back, I want to have my family back' Derek said walking over to her

'You know what Zola said the other night? She said she misses you, the kids miss you so much and I miss you so much. I want our family back; the hospital needs you too'

'I love you so much Meredith Grey, more than you will ever know'

'I love you too' Meredith said before her lips met Derek's. It had been three years since she kissed him. When she pulled away she looked up at him

'I'll talk to the kids tonight then you can see them'

'Thank you Mer'


	3. Chapter 3

Derek was in his room lying on his bed, imagining how it was going to go when he sees the kids again. Would they be excited to see him or would they be confused? He already missed years of their lives, he didn't want to miss anymore. He was waiting for Meredith to tell the kids.

Meredith had been to pick them up from Maggie's but by the time she got home Bailey was asleep and Zola wasn't feeling to well. She couldn't tell them now, so she carried Bailey to bed and put Ellis in her cot while she checked on Zola. She got her a glass of water and sat on the edge of her bed

'You feeling any better?' Meredith asked Zola, stroking her head

Zola shook her head with half closed eyes.

'Do you want to sleep with mommy tonight?'

'Yeah' Zola said, Meredith picked her up and carried her to her bed and lay her down next to where she would lie. Once she had checked on Bailey and Ellis she got in bed herself. She lay staring at the ceiling, she couldn't sleep once again.

How was she being so calm about it all? Maybe it just needed time to sink in. She was so angry that he did what he did, she wanted to just scream and shout. Just get everything off her chest, she still needed to figure out what she was going to do next. She had Nathan in her life now and she really liked him, and he really liked her. But Derek was back and she would always love him.

She was at work tomorrow, which meant she had all day to think about what she was going to say to him when she got home. Zola was supposed to be going for a sleep over at Sofia's which was planned last week. She didn't have anyone to talk to about it, since everyone thought he was dead.

The next morning, she woke up and had to get ready for work. She got Ellis dressed and let her play on her mat while she helped her other two get ready. She stood in the bathroom while they brushed their teeth

'Have you brushed them all?' Meredith asked them

'Yeah' they said in sync

'Let's see' Meredith said prompting Bailey and Zola to show Meredith their teeth

'Nice one guys, Zola have you got everything you need for Sofia's?'

'Yeah mommy' Zola said putting her shoes on

'Mommy, can I go to big baileys?' Bailey asked, he loved spending time with Miranda

'I can check with her at work today then' Meredith said going into her room to pick up Ellis, 'Right, let's get going. We need to drop Zola off at school and you two off at daycare so mommy can save lives'

Meredith put the kids into the car and got into the driver's seat. She looked up at the house at the window of the spare room, knowing Derek was in there. She sat there for a few seconds before leaving. She dropped Zola off at school, then drove to the hospital. She put Ellis in her pushchair and Bailey held onto the handle. They made their way up to the daycare and dropped them off before going to the attendings lounge to get changed into her scrubs.

She got her scrubs out and poured herself a coffee. She started to stir the coffee and stared at the wall. She was clearly distracted

'Grey' Miranda said walking in, 'Grey, you okay?'

'Oh, yeah I'm fine' Meredith said

'If you say so, if you need to talk then I'm here'

'Thanks Bailey, oh Bailey. Bailey wants to know if he can spend some time with big Bailey?'

'I can have him tonight if you like' Miranda said

'That's alright, are you going to pick him up from daycare?'

'I can do' Miranda said before leaving the lounge

Meredith changed into her scrubs before getting paged to the ER. When she got to the ER she assessed the patient she was paged to see, and it turned out they had appendicitis. She booked the OR and went back up to the OR ward. She was stood at the nurse's station staring at the OR board. All she could think was that Derek was at home.

'Hey you okay?' Alex said walking over

'I'm fine' Meredith said

'I've heard you say that enough times, to know that you're not fine when you say you are'

'I'm fine Alex' She said walking off

'Whatever' Alex said walking behind her and dragging her into a closet

'Come on tell me' Alex said

'Alex, I'm fine'

'Mer'

'Fine, I will tell you but you have to promise not to tell anyone until I am ready to tell people'

'Okay…'

'The other night I fell asleep on the couch, when a knock at the door woke me up. It was Derek, Derek isn't dead'

'What?' Alex cried

'Shh…he isn't dead. When he left we had a huge row, so when he got to DC the president said they had to change his name or whatever. So, they 'killed' him and changed him. He couldn't see his family or talk to them. But then he saw that Amelia had the tumor and he came home'

'I can't get my head around it, why would he agree to it?'

'Me neither, it was to protect the research and his identity'

'What did you say to him' Alex said now standing closer to Meredith who was upset

'I had him explain everything to me, then I had to tell him about Ellis, which wasn't easy. I'm supposed to talk to him tonight, then I have to talk to the kids'

'What are you going to say? When he 'died' it broke your heart, it broke it that bad that you left Seattle and didn't talk to anyone. Then you had to tell Amelia and your kids that he had died, I saw how it affected you and the kids. They have grown up without him, he can't just walk back into your lives. You have Nathan now as well' Alex said

'I know Alex, but he is my husband and the father on my children' Meredith said starting to tear up, 'I just feel like I need to scream and shout at him. Get everything off my chest. Then I need to talk to Nathan and break his heart'

'Don't break anything off with Nathan until you know that Derek is the one you want. I've seen the way you look at Nathan and the way he looks at you. Do you want me to yell at him?'

'Thanks Alex, but I don't think that will get me anywhere. Zola and Bailey are both out tonight so I can talk to him tonight'

'If you need to get out that house, you can always have you room back' Alex said

'Thanks' Meredith said giving Alex and hug. They both walked out the closet just as Nathan walked passed

'Hey…' Meredith said

'Hey Mer, I phoned you last night and you didn't answer'

'Oh yeah, I had to pick the kids up and then Zola wasn't well'

'Is she okay?' Nathan asked

'Yeah, she's good now' Meredith loved how Nathan cared about her kids without even meeting them yet. Alex was right, she did love Nathan.

'I was thinking, I could bring something for each of them when I meet them' Nathan said, 'What are they into?'

'You don't have to, I need to talk to them beforehand anyway. Just so they can get their heads around it'

'Okay, just let me know' Nathan said before giving Meredith a kiss and walking off.

Meredith had to get to the OR to do her appendectomy on her patient. She did the surgery successfully, she didn't have any more surgeries for the day. Just a few consults. When she was done for the day she went up to daycare. She told Bailey that he would be spending the night with big Bailey and gave him a kiss before picking up Ellis. She was dreading coming home to him.

She pulled up in the driveway and carried Ellis. It was pretty late, so she gave her some tea and then took her to bed. When she went back downstairs she found Derek sat in the living room.

'How was work?' Derek asked acting like he had never been away

'I can't…I can't do this' Meredith said

'What?'

'You have been gone for years Derek. I have a daughter that you didn't even know about. I had to organise a funeral for you, I had to tell their kids that their daddy was dead and that they would never see him again' Meredith said her voice getting slowly angrier, 'You can't just come back into our lives like nothing has happened'

'Meredith, I have explained everything to you'

'You haven't been here though Derek. I was attacked by a patient last year and our kid had to spend six weeks living with Alex. 6 weeks without either parent. Amelia had to get married with none of your family there, none of them came. She didn't have you to give her away. I don't understand how you threw us away, how you would rather work in DC than have your family'

'I know I shouldn't have done it Meredith, I realised that while I was in DC. I came home, I'm here now' Derek said standing up

'It took me ages to move on Derek, and now I have. I have someone new in my life, I was going to let him meet the kids, he is so excited to meet the kids. I can't just break his heart'

'I'm your husband Meredith, I'm the father of your children. It's killing me not being able to kiss you or see my children'

'I get that Derek, but I need to try and find a way to explain this to them. What am I supposed to say? Your daddy faked his death so he could work for the president? You know when I said you would never see daddy again, well he's back' Meredith said getting more angry

'I don't know what to say, but I want my kids. I want to take Zola to dance class, I want to take Bailey to soccer and I want to be there when Ellis takes her first steps'

'She is already walking, but that's what I mean. You have missed so much of their life. Ellis doesn't even know who you are'

'I know, and it kills me. I should know everything about them, and I don't. I want my family back, to be able to go to work at the hospital with my wife' Derek said taking hold of Meredith's hands

'I want that too Derek, but it just can't happen straight away. I need to speak to everyone at the hospital, I need to talk to Amelia and then I need to talk to Nathan. I will do it all in one day, tomorrow'


	4. Chapter 4

The day after the conversation with Derek, Meredith was at the hospital working. She had to check her post ops then she could go home. She walked into her last patients room and picked up the chart

'Doctor Grey' The patient said

'Hey Evelyn' Meredith said still distracted

'You seem distracted' Evelyn said

'It's just man troubles and children troubles' Meredith said reading the chart

'I married my Gabe 50 years ago, after we got married he joined the army and I didn't see him for years. He missed the birth of our daughter and the first few years of her life. But when he came home I couldn't be angry at him. He loved our daughter and he loved me and he became a proper part of the family' She said, this made Meredith think about her situation.

She loved Derek more than anything, he was everything. He was her 'post-it', they agreed on now running. She loved him and hated him at the same time. _To love each other even when we hate each other._ And she did love him. She missed falling asleep in his arms, she missed going on family days out, she missed him.

Once she had finished her post ops, she changed out of her scrubs and drove home. When she got home, she took the kids to the playroom and found Derek stood in the kitchen once again. She dropped her bag and ran over to him, she planted her lips and his and they shared a passionate kiss. The kiss lasted for a while, then she pulled away and looked up at him

'I'm sorry Derek, I want you back' Meredith said

'You don't need to apologise Mer, I'm the one that ran away when we promised we wouldn't'

'We can get passed this, I am going to talk to the kids tonight and we can sort everything else out tomorrow'

'Thank you, Meredith,' Derek said pulling her into a hug and placing a kiss on her head. Once she pulled away she went into the playroom

'Hey guys, mommy needs to talk to you' Meredith said crouching down to their level

'Has something happened?' Zola asked, the last time Meredith said that to them she told them that Derek had died

'No…no nothing bad has happened. Do you want to come into the living room with me?'

'Kay' Bailey said, she picked up Ellis and they made their way to the living room. Bailey and Zola sat on the sofa and Meredith sat Ellis between them

'Right, you know years ago when mommy said that daddy was gone and that you might never see him again' Meredith started tearing up, 'Well it turns out that, that daddy isn't really gone. He went to work with the president for a while, but he's back now'

'Daddy's back?' Zola asked getting excited

'Daddy is back' Meredith said prompting Derek to walk around the corner. Once Zola's eyes saw her daddy she flew off the sofa and into his arms

'Daddy!' Zola shouted, 'I missed you daddy'

'I missed you too Zozo' Derek said tearing up also, he placed a long-lasting kiss on her head

'Daddy' Bailey said, he didn't remember as much as Zola but he recognised him

'Hey Bails' Derek said, Bailey climbed off the sofa and ran to Derek. At this point Derek had both Zola and Bailey in his arms, Meredith picked Ellis up and walked over to them

'Derek, this is Ellis. Ellis this is your daddy' Meredith said

'Da-da' Ellis said

'Hey Ellis' Derek said, 'I love all of you so much'

They were finally the family they were supposed to be. That might they all spent it in one bed together. Zola and Bailey slept between Meredith and Derek and Ellis next to the bed in her cot. She loved having her family back, she knew it was going to be difficult to start with but they would get through it. They agreed that Meredith would talk to Nathan tomorrow and explain everything to him, then she would talk to Amelia. Then the other important people like the chief, Richard and his family.

That night was the first night in a week when she had slept, she had a good night sleep and woke up the next morning fresh. Derek was going to look after the kids that day and get back into the swing of things. When her alarm went off she turned it off quickly so it didn't wake anyone else, she showered and dressed in the spare bathroom and left Derek and note on the fridge beside Ellis's schedule.

When she got to the hospital she paged Nathan to the attendings lounge so she could speak to him

'Hey, you paged' Nathan said walking in

'Yeah, we need to talk' Meredith said

'Okay, have I done something'

'No, it's not you. I have to tell you someth…' Meredith started when she was interrupted by a pager going off

'It's mine' Nathan said, 'Can this wait till later?'

'Yeah, later's fine'

'I'll page you when I'm done' Nathan said placing a kiss on her cheek then leaving to see to the page

'Okay' Meredith said, left standing in the lounge alone. Since she couldn't talk to Nathan, she might as well go and talk to Amelia. She went to her room to find her watching TV

'Hey Amelia' She said walking in

'Hey Mer, how's everything? How's the kids?'

'The kids are fine' She said not really smiling, she sat beside her bed

'I have a brain tumor, I have a reason for not being happy. what's your excuse?'

'I need to tell you something, and I don't know how you're going to take it' Meredith said taking hold of her hand

'What's happened?'

'Derek is alive' Meredith revealed, 'He's back in Seattle'

'Wh…what?' Amelia cried

'He didn't die, it was a cover up to protect the research and his identity. He came back the other day, he explained everything to me and I have only just told the kids that he is back'

'He isn't dead?'

'No, he's not'

'Wh…' Amelia said before bursting into tears, Meredith sat beside her and pulled her into a hug. She was he sister-in-law, and she loved her.

'He…he came back when he heard about your tumor, he wants to help you' Meredith said

'Thank god' Amelia said

Meredith sat in her room with Amelia for a few more hours, until Nathan paged her so she went to meet him in lounge. When she walked in she saw him sat on the sofa, so she went and sat next to him

'What do you want to talk about?' Nathan asked

'I am so sorry Nathan, I can't do this anymore' Meredith said looking at him in the eyes

'What do you mean?'

'Me and you, something happened and I can't do this anymore'

'Wh…I thought we were good together?' Nathan asked confused. Just yesterday he was planning on meeting her kids and now she wants to break up, 'You said I could meet your kids'

'It's Derek. He isn't dead, he came back. It was all a cover up to protect the research or whatever. But he is my husband and the father of my kids' Meredith said tearing up

'I understand Mer, he is the love of your life and he is back' Nathan said, 'Our dream came true for you, he came back'

'Nathan, I am so sorry, you know I love you right and I would have loved to spend my life with you. But its Derek' Meredith said taking hold of her hands

'You don't need to apologise Mer, I love you too. Just know that I will always love you' Nathan said placing a kiss on her head before leaving.

Now that Amelia and Nathan knew, they could finally tell everyone else. They didn't know how it would go down, they all loved Derek and they missed him dearly. She finished her shift and went home to her family.

She came home to her kids and husband sat around the table with dinner on the table waiting for her. She told Derek that she had told Amelia and Nathan, and Derek had phoned his family while he was at home. The kids had spent the day with Derek, so he could catch up with them and get to know everything he had missed.

Meredith told Derek that he would need to go and see Amelia himself, but that she would go with him. They agreed that they would go in early tomorrow to see Amelia and then tell people gradually so it was a huge shock.

The next morning, Meredith and Derek had just walked into Amelia's room. Derek rushed over to her bed and gave her a hug. A hug that he had wanted to give for a long time. Meredith sat on the chair near the door, once they had been there for a while Meredith saw a group of people she knew walking towards the room. So, she closed the curtain and went outside.

'Is it true?' Miranda asked walking over followed by Alex, Richard, Arizona, Jackson, April and Owen

'Is he alive?' Richard asked

'What did you say Alex?' Meredith asked

'I didn't say anything' Alex said in his defence

'Shut up the lot of you' Meredith said, 'I am only going to say this one more time. Yes, Derek is alive, he is back. He has explained everything to me and Amelia, he had to do it to protect the research or whatever. Then he heard about Amelia's tumor and he came back to help her'

'He's going to help Amelia?' Owen asked

'Yeah, he wants to do the surgery. He knows he can remove the tumor' Meredith said

'Mer, I'm going to get a coffee…' Derek started as he walked out the room before seeing everyone

'Derek' Miranda shouted, 'What the hell were you thinking' She said hitting his chest

'I'm glad you're back Shepherd' Jackson said

'Can you remove the tumor?' Owen asked, worried for his wife

'I am sorry for everything I put you through guys, but I am back. And I am back and I am going to remove the tumor' Derek said

'It's good to have you back Derek' Richard said


	5. Chapter 5

That night, Derek came home after Meredith as he was looking over Amelia's scans and lab results. When he got home he made everyone tea and they sat around the table.

'Daddy where have you been?' Zola asked

'I…I was working with the president. Do you know who that is?' Derek asked

'He's the man in charge' Zola said making Meredith smile

'Yeah it is, I was working with him. I'm sorry I was gone for so long' Derek said

'I love you daddy' Zola said

'Love daddy' Bailey said after Zola

'I love you too, I love all of you so much. Do you know what we're going to do? Once daddy has helped auntie Amelia we are going to go on vacation. Daddy is going to take mommy and you three to see nana' Derek said, he knew he had to make it up to them

'See nana!' Zola said excited

'Yep' Derek said

That night, Derek put each of the kids to bed. He had missed doing it for ages. He carried Ellis while Zola and Bailey walked beside him. He rocked Ellis until she was asleep and then lay her in her cot. Then he went into Baileys room, he read him a story, kissed him goodnight and turned the light off. Finally, it was Zola's turn, he went in and read her, her favourite story. When he finished he put the book away and placed a kiss on her head. He walked towards the door.

'Daddy, why did mommy say we would never see you again?' Zola asked, stopping Derek

'It was because I didn't know how long I was going to be working away for. Mommy didn't want to upset you'

'So, she lied?'

'The only reason she did it was because she was making sure you and Bailey and Ellis were safe. But all that matters, is that I am back now with my family and I am never going away again okay, we are going to be a family forever' Derek said

'Okay daddy'

'Sleep tight Zozo' Derek said turning off the light and going downstairs.

'How are they?' Meredith asked as Derek joined her in the kitchen as she cleaned the pots

'They are all asleep. Ellis fell asleep after I rocked her for a few minutes. I read to Bailey and Zola and they are asleep now' Derek said sitting on one of the stools, 'I've missed putting them to bed'

'Well you can do it forever now if you like' Meredith laughed

'What are you going to do about Amelia's tumor?' Meredith asked drying her hands, and grabbing a bottle of wine and two glasses

'Well, tomorrow I am going to do an MRI, CT scans and run labs. And if everything is in check I should be able to go in tomorrow night or the next morning and remove it' Derek said walking into the living room and sitting in the corner of the sofa

'Will she make it through it?' Meredith asked, sitting next to Derek pouring them both a glass of wine

'If everything goes to plan, she should be back working within a few weeks depending on how fast she recovers' Derek told her, letting Meredith lean into his body and they relaxed

'She will survive though?' Meredith asked

'Yeah, she will, she will be fine' Derek said placing a kiss onto her head, 'I promise I am never going to leave again. I am going nowhere'

'When I was putting Zola to bed, she asked me why you said they would never see me again'

'What did you say?'

'That you said that, so they were safe, you didn't want to upset them'

'Thanks Derek' Meredith said. Meredith stayed leaning in Derek's body until she fell asleep. Still with her glass in her hand.

'Meredith…Mer' Derek said seeing if Meredith was awake. He leant forward and saw that she was asleep. He took the glass out of her hand and put it on the table next to his. He gently picked her up and carried her to the bedroom and lay her down on their bed. He wanted her to be comfy and not to be alone any more while she slept. He then climbed into bed himself and they fell asleep.

The next morning, Derek and Meredith dropped Zola off at school and Bailey and Ellis at day care before going to work. Today was the day of Amelia's surgery, the scans and labs looked good. Amelia had been prepared for surgery and was lay in the OR waiting to be put under anaesthesia, Derek was stood in the scrub room staring at his sister. He was frozen in the scrub room, he was nervous this was his sister he was going to operate on.

'You ready?' Meredith asked walking into the scrub room, 'Derek?'

'I don't know if I can do this'

'You can do this Derek, you are the best person for this job'

'What if something goes wrong? I haven't operated in years, I don't know what I will do if something goes wrong. This is my sister, my little sister. My mother and my sisters are sat in the waiting room'

'Derek listen to me, you are going to be fine. You till do this surgery then we will go and tell your family that she is fine. Now go and get this surgery done'

'Thank you, Mer' Derek said before walking into the OR.

Meredith made her way up to the gallery and sat in the middle of the front row. Gradually more and more people joined her in the gallery. Maggie had come and sat beside her, Owen and the other doctors took up the other seats in the gallery. The seat on the other side of Meredith was empty. Everyone's eyes were stuck on the surgery, watching Derek's every move.

'Meredith?' Carolyn said walking into the gallery

'Carolyn? What are you doing up here?' Meredith said looking at her mother-in-law

'I wanted to know how it was going, nobody is telling us anything'

'You can't be up here' Richard said

'That's my daughter down there with her brain being operated on by her brother' Carolyn said, 'I have three other daughters sat in the waiting room wanted to know how their sister is. Please let me stay'

'I'm sor…' Richard started

'She can stay, there's a seat here Carolyn' Meredith said

Hours later and Derek had completed the surgery, Amelia was in ICU. Carolyn was sat by her bedside with Amelia's hand in hers, Derek was sat on the other side of her bed with Meredith sat on the arm of the chair. Her three sisters; Kathleen, Liz and Nancy, were sat on the couch in the room. They all wanted Amelia to wake up and be fine, but they all knew that there may be some problems after.


End file.
